Avangard Pilsner Malt

[FredTheNuke]

He be trolling... LOL

 

[theck]

I've brewed a bunch with it and never had an issue or taste problem. Odd.

 

[finsfan]

I haven't personally used Avangard before, but just today I was told by a LHBS owner that it is garbage and to beware. He said 5 of his really good brewers tried it, and none of the beers were any good.

I am a huge fan of Best Malz pilsner.

Maybe his really good brewers are good, but only relatively. I used 55lbs of it in many styles and they were all good. Speak what you know, not what you hear.

 

[QuercusMax]

Also could be his LHBS wants to sell pricier malt as they make more $$ off it.

 

[stpug]

I haven't personally used Avangard before, but just today I was told by a LHBS owner that it is garbage and to beware. He said 5 of his really good brewers tried it, and none of the beers were any good.

^^What your LHBS owner said is simply not true. While it may be new to us, it's been around a long time overseas . The pilsner malt produces beers that are as fine as weyermann; munich surpasses the weyermann equivalent; and the pale ale malt is distinctive in it's own right and imparts significant maltiness, but is not for use as a generic base malt of all styles, instead think to german style beers for the pale ale malt. It's good stuff and generally comes in at about 80% the cost of other continental malts.

 

[schematix]

Well given how strong the opinions are that it is in fact good, I will have to give it a try to see for myself. I wasn't trolling, just adding an opinion of someone who I respect.

 

[stpug]

Well given how strong the opinions are that it is in fact good, I will have to give it a try to see for myself. I wasn't trolling, just adding an opinion of someone who I respect.

I didn't think you were trolling. You clearly stated that your LHBS guy provided you his opinion. You're good in my book

If and when you try it, give the Pilsner or Munich malts a shot over the Pale Ale malt. They seem to be more "substitutable" in any given recipe than the Pale Ale malt. Additionally, the pilsner malt has been known/shown to give additional extraction during the mash so you may end up with higher gravity (efficiency) than expected.

 

[FredTheNuke]

It does hit a tad higher than calculated in gravity and comes out a bit darker than other brands - this is from my experience with three bags of Avangard Pilsen.

 

[bolus14]

Have any of you noticed any DMS or off flavors with only a 60 min boil with this malt. I made a Wit that I've made before and the only change to the recipe was this malt. It's been through the primary and sitting in secondary for a total of about 6 weeks now. I pick up a ham like taste which BJCP is an off flavor found in Wit's that's unwanted, but i haven't been able to find what contributes to giving it the ham like flavor. Could be bad/old coriander, boiling orange peel for too long, I'm not sure but since this is the only change I made I'm wondering if it just needs a more traditional 90 min boil since it's Pilsner malt.

I had 4 other people taste it, two who are mainly BMC drinker and one who is mainly a wine drinker, the fourth is my wife so she at least tastes most of what I make and for beer she tends to like fruit beers or porters/stouts.
The two BMC drinkers more or less just said it tasted bland, maybe a little grainy?
Wine drinker said it wasn't bad but had almost a flour like taste in the finish
My wife said it had a perfume taste

So it may be far from DMS, since that's described as cream corn and none of that feedback is close to cream corn.

 

[QuercusMax]

I'd always recommend at least a 75-minute boil if not 90 when you're using a lot of Pilsner malt, regardless of where it comes from.

I haven't noticed any DMS in particular, but I always do a long boil with this malt.

 

[tagz]

I always use a 60 minute boil for this malt and have never had any issues.

 

[stpug]

Update on the extract potential of this grain (i.e. the increased efficiency) that I experienced:

The first bag, bought January 2014, had the increased extract potential mentioned in this thread. I found it to fall somewhere around the 1.041 range.

The second bag, bought March 2015, had a more normal extract potential of 1.037 . As for taste character, I'll have to post back once I get to taste a beer brewed with this new bag.

 

[jsguitar]

Update on the extract potential of this grain (i.e. the increased efficiency) that I experienced:

The first bag, bought January 2014, had the increased extract potential mentioned in this thread. I found it to fall somewhere around the 1.041 range.

The second bag, bought March 2015, had a more normal extract potential of 1.037 . As for taste character, I'll have to post back once I get to taste a beer brewed with this new bag.

Any new impressions? I just ordered a sack each of the Pilsner and Munich from my LHBS. I'm excited to try it in some lagers and maybe a Kolsch.

 

[stpug]

Any new impressions? I just ordered a sack each of the Pilsner and Munich from my LHBS. I'm excited to try it in some lagers and maybe a Kolsch.

Thanks for the reminder. I've used the new pilsner malt in several brews since March. A few are sour beers which have not been sampled too much, but three others have been turned around.

A petite saison which consisted of pils ~60% and spelt ~40% is on tap right now and is very tasty. Of course, the gravity and grist were both very modest but the beer itself is good, however, it is dominated by yeast and hops. I really like this beer but it's not like the pilsner malt plays a huge role.

A berliner weisse consisting of pils 70% and wheat 30%. Tart and refreshing. No yeast or hops to get in the way, but the lactic qualities are the real centerpiece. At 5 lbs total grist for 5 gallons, I guess I can't expect much of any malt qualities to poke through. Again, a fantastic beer but certainly not malt-focused.

A cream ale consisting of 62% pils, 26% corn, and some character malts, with a moderate OG. This is probably the best example of beer with the new bag of pilsner malt, and I truly love this beer. Easy drinking, light-mod ABV, and an overall great summer beer. The pilsner malt is just enough to get some grainy malt character but not enough to pull your attention away from everything else. Again, a great beer and probably the best example I've produced with the new bag of pilsner malt. This is my third version of this beer and the first version to use avangard pilsner; the only changes I'll be making to the grist of this beer in the future will be the character malts - the pilsner is there to stay (that's two-thumbs up for the pils ).

Overall, I would say the new bag is very similar to the last in terms of "usual" pilsner malt qualities but just not as much extract potential as the last bag. It's a great pilsner malt IMO.

The munich I/light sack I have (also Avangard) is very good. I've used it in several beer, one of which was 100% dunkle munich. The malt qualities are distinct and pronounced, and in the fresh-bread (with crust) character. Not dark enough to pull off a dunkle on it's own, but the beer was very tasty. I've used this malt in many beers (including the cream ale mentioned above) and it's very good.

The last Avangard malt I've used is their Pale Ale malt and I generally do NOT like it. Very distinct and specific characteristics. Works well in dark malty beers but not great for anything lighter than a brown ale. I won't buy this bag again.

Hope this helps.

 

[jsguitar]

That's very helpful! Thanks for that. Yeah, I just had to call my LHBS guy to make sure it was the Munich light that I ordered and I'm glad I did because he had me down for the dark. I just don't use that much dark Munich but I'm using light Munich in a lot of different beers. I just love the stuff.

I'm glad to hear that the Pilsner and Munich are quality malts because I think they're reasonably priced as well. It's saving me some money over ordering Weyermann online. I look forward to using it.

 

[wardens355]

That's very helpful! Thanks for that. Yeah, I just had to call my LHBS guy to make sure it was the Munich light that I ordered and I'm glad I did because he had me down for the dark. I just don't use that much dark Munich but I'm using light Munich in a lot of different beers. I just love the stuff.

I'm glad to hear that the Pilsner and Munich are quality malts because I think they're reasonably priced as well. It's saving me some money over ordering Weyermann online. I look forward to using it.

What LHBS did you buy from and how much was a 55-lb sack?

 

[jsguitar]

What LHBS did you buy from and how much was a 55-lb sack?

Homebrew Pro Shoppe in Olathe. I'd have to double check because I haven't paid for it yet but I think he said the Pilsner was $54 something and the Munich was $60 and some change I think.

 

[wardens355]

Homebrew Pro Shoppe in Olathe. I'd have to double check because I haven't paid for it yet but I think he said the Pilsner was $54 something and the Munich was $60 and some change I think.

That's pretty good. I've been buying online whenever there's 20-25% off deals to dampen the shipping cost. Do they do a bulk order whenever they get enough people in on the order?

Just an FYI, I have made solid beers with Avangard Pilsener, Vienna, and pale ale malts. Just got a bag of Munich Light and plan to make a Munich Dunkel with it in the next few weeks. Good maltster so far.

 

[jsguitar]

That's pretty good. I've been buying online whenever there's 20-25% off deals to dampen the shipping cost. Do they do a bulk order whenever they get enough people in on the order?

Just an FYI, I have made solid beers with Avangard Pilsener, Vienna, and pale ale malts. Just got a bag of Munich Light and plan to make a Munich Dunkel with it in the next few weeks. Good maltster so far.

Yeah, I thought it was good. When I was in recently I noticed his malt prices were quite a bit lower and he told me he just starting getting a better deal from his supplier. I don't know about the bulk order, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a call and ask. He's always really nice.


Good to hear another positive endorsement of Avangard.

 

[Brettomomyces]

I just opened a bag of Avan pils and have been using their Munich dark over the past few months. Their dark is only 15L (or at least the one I have) and has a really good flavor, it's full and smooth. I prefer it over Weyermann...brewed the same beer three times now, twice with Avangard Munich and once with Weyermann and I can tell the difference.

 

[jsguitar]

@wardens355 I just got back with my grain and the Munich was $10 cheaper than quoted. I don't know if that was intenional or not. It didn't totally click in my head until the way home. I just thought you might want to know that in case that's the normal price.

 

[Ryat66]

I am noticing the 2015 crop to have more normal potential versus some of the previous years. Anyone else?

So far I've been very happy with Avangard, it seems like one of those 'best you've never heard of' scenarios. The price is certainly appealing.

 

[stpug]

I am noticing the 2015 crop to have more normal potential versus some of the previous years. Anyone else?

With the pilsner, yes, I'd agree. The first bag (2014 crop) I got was giving the extra-high potential, two bags after that (2015 crops) were much more typical. Same great malt, just less potential - which was fine by me.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Thread necropoly...

Just bought 55 lbs of Avanguard pale malt for $49.

I have heard the best thing to do is taste the raw malt. Literally take about 3 or 4 barley kernels and chew them to get the flavor profile. Did this for the first time with Maris Otter. So, yeah it's bready with a very low roasted malt taste.

Don't try this with hops....LOL